Now or Never, Present and Past
by sister-forever
Summary: Millie just got herself onto her childhood friend's ship. But their past memories had a bitter end. Is Sabo dead or alive? NOTE: This is after the post-war, but the marines lost and Ace is still alive and kicking.
1. WHAAAAAAT?

**Etsuko: Hello all! I really hope you will enjoy my newest story. Hmm… This is something I've thought of while showering a few days ago. I'm sorry for all the grammar and spelling mistakes throughout the chapter.**

**I do not own One piece.**

**And let the adventure begin!**

Chapter one

"Hurry up! You're so slow!" I grumbled as I walked, leaving foot prints in the snow trailing behind me. My sister, Emma, shrugged, trying to catch up with me in this one-foot-deep-of-snow road. We had just finished our classes and on our way back to our newly bought detached house.

"Wait up!" She shrieked as she lagged behind me farther and farther. I spun around, annoyed by the fact that she was always so slow.

"Speed walk! Didn't you learn that during gym classes?"

"You mean _power walk_," rolling her eyes, she corrected me.

"Speed walk, power walk, they are all the same! Just WALK faster!" Once again, I continued walking in front of her.

Finally! The house slowly came into our view. It was a pretty decent detached house, with a kidney-shaped swimming pool in the backyard, at the corner of the road. Hmm… Swimming pool. Imagine the hot summer and a swimming pool! How cool is that!

The wind blew across my face, as if to remind me that winter is not over yet. I stopped my pace and waited for my sister following me. I held out my hand impatiently, "The key?" At a snail pace, she checked her pockets, one by one, and pulled out the key at last. Instantly, I took the key from her and quickly open the front door.

As I opened the door, I noticed a few pairs of unfamiliar, yet familiar shoes - a pair of slippers, a pair of high heels, two pair of boots, and two pair of black shoes. The thing that caught my eye the most was that there were two sets of MUDDY/WET FOOT PRINTS THAT CAN BE FOUND ALL OVER THE FLOOR! By instinct, I closed the door again.

"Emma," I whispered, "There are guests at home. The worse thing is, they left dirty footprints all over the house."

My sister's eyes grew wide. "Foot prints? I wanna see them!"

Slowly and quietly, I opened the door just wide enough for one of her eyes. Carefully, she leaned forward. Instead of hearing her go angry, I heard her scream instead. My body acted by itself, I swung open the door as fast as I could to see what made Emma scream like a freak. To my horror, I just whacked someone familiar on the face with the door. I stared at the person, then to my sister, and back to the person again. My younger sister looked at me, "Onee-chan, Thank you. He almost scares the daylights out of me."

I smiled, "No problem! Oh, could you check the mail box, please?"

As she took out the contents from the flooded mail box, I cautiously stepped into the house, making sure that the coast is clear. Slowly, I took out my shoes and place them on the rack. As I bent down, I took a closer look at the face of the person, hiding behind the door minutes ago and now unconscious for _some_ reasons.

_Is he an impersonator? These days, people just like to dress like someone else just because they idolize them._

"LUFFY!" a voiced cried out. Immediately, I spun around to see who it was.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

"AHHH! You… you!" I pointed at the small, brown, and furry-looking animal.

"AHH!" Noticing me, he hid one of his eyes and exposed the rest of his body. His body shaking, "What…. What did you do… do to Luffy?"

"And may I ask what did you do to my floor?" I pointed at the muddy footprints he just made seconds ago.

"Don't change the subject! What did you do to my captain?" His voice was shaky.

_Luffy? Captain? Blue nose? Animal? _

"AHHHH! So cute! A furry animal!" Emma, just finished collecting the mails and was now inside the house, yelled.

Emma broke my chain of thoughts and now was my turn to yell. "AHHHH! What are you guys doing here?"

"We… We came here because the captain told us to!"

_What business does pirates have to do with us? But who cares? They're the strawhat pirates! It couldn't be bad news._

"Okay. He was behind the door when I opened it." I said, flatly.

"Sooooo cute! A talking animal!" Emma eyes sparkle brightly.

"Cute? Calling me cute won't make me happy, you stupid…" He flapped his arms and dance around, looking absolutely happy, despite of what he said.

"Millie? Emma? You're home?" A loud voice boomed.

"We're home!" we shouted in unison.

"Girls! Come here and meet the straw hat pirates." Mom called out from the living room.

Almost immediately, Luffy woke up as if nothing has happened. "Man… That was a nice nap." He yawned.

Carefully, we skipped the muddy foot prints on the way to the living room.

"Gomu gomu no… _chibi_ rocketto…!" Straw hat Luffy skillfully stretched his arms and shoots himself into the living room.

_Wow… What a nice way to go into the living room without worrying about the dirty footprints._

As my sister and I made it into the room where our parents were, I glanced around the room and made a mental note to myself.

_Hmm… Franky's here, so is Zoro, Sanji, Robin, Nami, Luffy, Usopp, and I saw Chopper just now. Why is the whole crew here?_

"Girls, I'm pretty sure you know who they are, so I'll cut short the introduction. Your grandfather- My father- made a promise with Luffy's Grandfather, Garp, that one of their children or grandchildren will join forces with each other. And since none of my siblings and I are willing to join forces with Garp's son –Monkey D Dragon – So your generation have to. However, there is a condition. The one who join forces must be younger than Luffy. As a result, the ones that are left are you two girls." My father explained.

"But… but why would they make such a promise with each other?" I demanded. I mean, it's totally unreasonable! Why would they do such a thing!

"Ah… That's a good question. It's because Garp and my father wanted to travel together, but their circumstances are making it impossible."

_How does he always make things sound so simple? _

"And so? The conclusion?" I asked.

"And so, we've decided that Millie, you go with them to the seas. You are the older than Emma and I'm sure you know how to take care of yourself better than Emma."

_WHAT! I'm to go with them? Out in the ocean with some pirates? Wait a minute; I got an excuse not to go!_

"But I am not suitable to go out in the ocean. Have you forgotten? I am seasick." I reminded them, feeling really proud of myself for having that sickness for the first time.

"No worry! I have the cure for that. So, please come with us." Chopper held up a small pink ball and handed it to me.

"Err... Okay, sure." I mustered all my strength to smile.

_Oh shoot! Why did I have to forget that chopper is a doctor! I guess there's no way out for this one already. Good bye to my wonderful peaceful days…_

"Millie, they are going to stay here for a day to set their log. So, pack your stuff before they leave tomorrow." My mother told me.

"Onee-chan! So cool! I wish I could sail in the oceans…but sadly, mommy don't allow me to…"

Looking at my sister's disappointed face made me decide. I'm going to send her plenty of letters, filled with adventure, so that she will feel as if she was there herself.

Despite being impatient with my sister, I truly cared for her. I was impatient with her is because I felt that she need to learn to be quicker in everything she do. I'm going to miss her badly.

"Emma, wanna help me pack my stuff? It's the last time we will be doing it together." I felt tears welling up at my eyes, but I held it back. I cannot let my ego of being a role model to my sister be ruined by this. I cannot let her know that I'm gonna miss her real badly. I need to smile and say goodbye.

Turning to Chopper, I asked, "So, do I eat this now?"

"Yeah."

"YAY! A new nakama!" Luffy joyfully danced around, chanting the words again and again.

I held the pink medicine close to my mouth, took in a deep breath, shut my eyes tight, and swallowed the pill whole. Nothing happened. I blinked twice. I turned to look at my sister, who was staring at me. I smiled. "Shall we go?"

. . .

My bedroom was a typical neat freak's room – books organized on the shelves, clothes folded neatly in the wardrobe, and the bed was neatly made. We opened the suitcase and place it on the floor.

"Cooooooool~" Peering into my room, Luffy exclaimed.

"Wow~ as expected of Millie-chwan!"

"shuddap! Noisy love-cook."

"Have a problem? Stupid Marimo"

"Oh yea? Wanna have a go?"

"The two of you ARE BLOCKING MY WAY!"

_Poink, poink. _Two reddish-pink bumps appear on the blonde's and the swordsman's head. As if it was magic, the two of them went quiet.

"hn hn hn. As rowdy as always," Robin giggled.

"The only one who can stop those two is Nami-san." Usopp explained to no one in particular.

All of a sudden, my room is crowded with people. Cant I just spend some time alone with my sister! Geez, these people…

My sister and I laid all my clothes on the bed and started folding them and placing them neatly into my suitcase, one by one. Then, we folded the lingerie's and place then into another compartment. After that, I took my books out from the shelves and place them into a backpack. And by the time we're done, it's already dinner time.

The smell from the kitchen downstairs drifted through the walls and into my bedroom, making my sister and me hungry.

…

After a satisfying meal that Sanji and mommy made, we chatted.

"Haha! I see, you're turning 16 this year? That's young."

"Luffy, you're a fine one to talk. You're just a year older than her!" Usopp said.

"True, true…"

"So, Millie, what are you good at?" Robin questioned.

"Hmm… Studying and drawing," I replied.

"Fighting skills?"

I thought about it for a moment. "None!" I exclaimed brightly.

"NONE!" Stunned, they all yelled in unison.

Somehow expecting their responses, I just smiled and waited for their next movement.

"By the way, onee-chan is really bad at physical stuff."

"Can you aim?"

"Nope"

"Do you have stamina?"

"Nope"

"Strength?"

"Not really…"

"Kick?"

"No..."

"Punch?"

"Nope."

"Use a sword?"

"No."

"Can you stretch?"

"Nope. I did not even eat any devil fruit."

At this point, I felt really useless. I realized that I can't even fight. I mean, why do you even have to fight in a civilized place like this island?

"I'm sorry…" I apologized.

…

**The next Day**

I woke up, feeling as if yesterday was just a dream. I stifled a yawn as I dragged my feet across the carpet, to the bathroom. Lazily, I rubbed my right eye with my right hand while my left hand reached out for the door knob.

"Ahh~ I thought I was about to pee in my pants-"

Too late. I stared at the figure standing in front of the toilet bowl. Likewise, he stared at me.

"!"

Immediately, I closed the door shut, closing my eyes while trying to erase the image seconds ago. Soon, everyone surrounded me and asked what had happened.

"He… He… I…" My tongue got stuck now, of all times. My hands were frantically pointing at the toilet, the door, and at me. However, to the others, my arms were just waving everywhere.

Then, the sound of the toilet flushing could be heard and the door swing open.

"Man, could you not budge into the toilet when someone else is peeing?" the captain of the crew accused me.

"Then why didn't you lock the door?" I countered.

"Lock the door? There wasn't any lock!"

"Look carefully!" I went to the other side of the door and showed him.

"Uhh, you should have showed me earlier!"

"But how am I suppose to know that you don't even know how to LOCK the bathroom door!"

"If that's the case then, I'm sorry."

I smiled. "Apology accepted."

…

"Are you ready to go, Millie?"My dad called out to me.

"Uh.." I looked around the room to see if I was missing out something. I had brought tons of winter coats, tons of sweaters, tons of t-shirts and jeans and skirts, a comb and other hair accessories, many writing materials, a sketch book, a couple of assessment books for studying, and some books for reading. "Yeah, I'm coming."

Sanji helped me to carry my overloaded suitcase and I was carrying my backpack.

"Millie, are you ready to go on the journey and fulfill your grandfather's promise?"

I smiled as best as I could. "Yes."

"Yosh! Let's go!"

"OOOOH!"

…

**Etsuko: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I will certainly update ASAP!**

**If you like this story, please check out the other stories I've written! :D**

**Please review! Criticisms are welcomed!**


	2. A welcome party

**A/N: Sorry for the late upload, I have Summer school… And it's finally over! *dances around* **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece. (Isn't it obvious?)**

…

Chapter 2

"This is dining room," Franky lead me to the place where meals will be served at. Then, he continued walking across the dining room and into a corridor. "Over here," He said as he walk past the rooms, "Is where all the bedrooms are." Finally, he pushed open a door. "This is your room." As he stepped back, I looked at my room in awe. The wall was painted in the colour of sky blue and a bed with matching bed sheets. At the other corner, a wooden desk and a wooden shelf stood side by side. A chest for my clothes stood a few feet away from the bed.

"This is… My room…" I slowly said to myself. I couldn't believe my eyes. I blinked twice, to see if the bedroom will change if I opened my eyes again. It was way beautiful than my previous bedroom.

Sanji placed my suitcase into the room. "It's a nice room." He commented casually. Nodding, I agree with him.

"Woooooow! It's nicer than mine."

"Luffy, that's because you did not tidy it up." Nami responded flatly.

Pouting, Luffy crossed his arms and faced away. However, seconds later, his face lit up. "Millie! Let's go to the aquarium!"

_Boof!_ Nami hit Luffy on the head and a huge bun developed on his head. "Luffy! Let Millie unpack her things first!"

I felt a pang of sympathy for Luffy. "No, it's okay. I can do that tonight."

He smiled, showing all his teeth, despite of the huge swollen wound on his head. "Hee hee."

…

We entered the aquarium a short while later, passing through corridoors that just magically appear.

"Wow!" I gasped, taking in the beautiful sight of the rich colour of the room. Franky showed me the aquarium during the brief tour a while ago, but I just managed to get a small peek of the room before hurrying on to the other rooms. Fishes of all colours and sized swam together, in the deep blue background.

"It's cool, right?" He laughed while watching at me filled with amazement.

"Each of these fishes has a history and a future with us."

I turned around, looking at the doctor of the ship.

"Like that fish," He pointed at the huge silver fish, "its future is going to be served on a plate during dinner."

After listening to Chopper, I was certainly happy that I wasn't born as a fish. We stayed in the aquarium for another half hour or so.

_Sniff,_ Chopper's nose went up and down._ Sniff_ , this time, he did it in the other direction. "Oi, Luffy, Millie, it smells like dinner is ready." He announced. I nodded at him.

"Yay! Dinner, dinner! I'm famished." Luffy cheered brightly and ran out of the room, with Chopper and I chasing after him.

As we were passing through a corridor that I had not been to before, we saw a sign on a door:

**DO ****NOT**** ENTER**

**(ESPECIALLY LUFFY)**

"Hmm?" Luffy paused and stared at the bolded sign on the door. "This is strange, why is my name on the notice?" He wondered out loud to himself and stared at it longer, as if staring at it as long as possible would give him the answer. "Hmm…" His index finger scratching his (in)famous straw hat. Suddenly, a smile slowly spread across his facade. Immediately, I knew exactly what he was going to do.

"Luffy! What are you trying to do?" I stopped him before his hand grabbed hold of the door knob.

"What am I trying to do? I'm going in, of course!"

His expression showed his resolution to go into the room that I backed down. He was unstoppable. Not wanting to attract any trouble, I stepped back.

The captain smiled evilly.

His hand reached the door knob, twirling his fingers around it. _BAM!_ He slammed that wooden door open widely.

He stood there for a second, puzzled. "What's up with you guys? Why are you standing at the door like that?"

Suddenly, an arm grabbed his shirt and pulled him, making him tip his toe.

_Whew, I was smart not to stand beside him._

"What the hell are you doing here! Where's Millie-chan? Where's Chopper?" Someone bellowed, shaking his arm.

_Oh…? They're waiting for me._

Nonetheless, I stood where I was and continue watching the somewhat amusing scene unfolding before me.

"Oh? So you're waiting for Millie. She's right there" He lifted his right arm and pointed it towards me.

Immediately, he was released and the blond cook came, flying (or rather, hurricaning if that's even a word) towards me. "MILLIE-CHWAN~ " He then held out his arm, escorting me. "You need to eat more, so that you can become an even beautiful woman when you grow older."

I smiled at him, "Thank you."

The somewhat-surprise-but-not-so-surprising surprise party went on. All food and drinks were prepared by Sanji, with the assistance of Nami. Decorations were done by Robin, Franky, and Usopp. Of course, the skeleton played the music.

Stories were shared, those exciting and fun adventures they had. I kept quiet and listened.

_They seemed to be having fun… Will I ever be able to laugh like them?_

"Millie, are you okay? Did you eat the medicine I prescribed to you?" I looked at the blue-nosed reindeer, his eyes full of concern.

Naturally, I smiled and said, "I'm fine." But my insides were obviously not. I couldn't tell, and I couldn't share. The only thing I could do now is to hide and act as if I'm fine, like what I had been doing for the past 10 years.

"Millie-chwan, do you have enough to eat? This PIG here, finished all the food." He punched the ballooned captain when he mentioned the word P-I-G.

I gave a small laugh. "I'm fine, thanks."

"SANJI! What was that for!" There was a hint of hurt in the strawhat's voice.

"Well, You practically ate ALL the food I prepared for Millie-chwan!"

"Oh, I see." He did the OH-I-get-it action with his hands.

"Is that all you can say after eating all the food!" The annoyed cook stepped on the poor captain's head and squashed it against the wall. But the captain doesn't seem to care.

"Shuddap, you noisy love cook. I'm trying to drink."

"You have a problem with me, you moss-head."

"So what if I do? You swirly eye-brows."

"HUH?"

As expected of both of them. After the insults they hurled at each other, they fought. As expected (again), Nami was the one who stopped the bicker by giving each of them a punch in the head.

It was a really amusing scene, although the ending was kind of the same every single time.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!"

All heads turn to Nami as she walked to the corner of the room, where a lone bag stayed. After taking out something from the bag, she hold it out to me.

"Here you go! It's a welcome gift." She smiled.

"Thank you!" I beamed at her as I stretched out my hands to receive it.

"Ooooh! It's rare that Nami gave a present to someone else."

Annoyance flashed across the thief's eyes and she gave him two punches to shut the captain up.

"_Luckily I didn't say that, if not the one who was beaten up would be me…"_

My ears twitched and I turned around, only to find Usopp and Chopper hugging and shaking. I gave them a chuckle. "I heard that, Usopp."

"H-h-heard what?"

"Do you really want me to say it out loud?"

He didn't reply. He just swallowed his saliva loudly.

Taking that as a yes, I cleared my voice. "Luckily I didn't say-"

"STOP! H-h-how did you k-know?" He was shaking more and more violently.

Not wanting to take advantage of him any longer, I just gave him a wink before turning back to see what was going on between the captain and the annoyed Nami.

"That's so mean, Luffy! Do you know how much I always wanted a younger sister?"

"You always wanted a younger sister, Nami-swan?" The cook seemed to have revived from his last beating.

The only reply he received was a "Humpt".

"Wonderful~ Nami-swan always wanted to be an Onee-chwan (Onee-chan = Older sister). I looooooove the "sisterly" side of Nami-swan too~"

"Noisy love-cook."

"Do you have a problem? You Moss-head."

"So what if I do? Swirly eye-brows."

"HUH!"

Just like the previous time, they fought. And just like the previous time, Nami stopped the fight by giving them a beating each.

I smiled at the comical sight.

_I'm finally here, Sabo…_

…

**A/N: Sorry for the long awaited chapter! It's finally the summer hols! Whoopee~ I'll try to upload as fast as I can (: **

**Next time: Millie and Sabo**


	3. Millie and Sabo

**A/N: Heyy all! I'm back again! Well, I'm not really sure if I'm satisfied with this chapter but… oh well! Please enjoy the story!**

**Last time: The strawhat pirates threw a welcome party for Millie.**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual stuff- I don't own One Piece. (If only I did…)**

…

Chapter 3:

"Ahhh" I laid on my bed as I stretched out my arms. Finally, I finished unpacking my belongings. Using my elbows as a source of support, I propped myself up and look at the photo on my bedside table.

_Sabo… Can you believe it? I'm on Luffy's ship, on my way to an adventure. _

…

Ten years ago

In East blue

"Emma! Where are you?" I called out to nowhere in particular. My sister and I were playing hide and seek in the playground. I pushed some random boxes away, peered into the cylinder-shaped slide, looked behind the bush, but to no avail. Frustrated, I kicked a nearby tree really hard and the result was very obvious.

"OWWWW!" I yelled in pain as I grabbed hold of my foot, jumping up and down with the other. I cursed the tree under my breath as I glared angrily at it. Suddenly, I heard someone burst out laughing. I looked around but saw no one.

_Tch. Even God is laughing at me for my pure stupidity._

Right after I said that in my head, someone fell from the sky, or rather, the tree.

"Oww oww oww…" A boy in blue rubbed his head.

I stared at the figure in front of me, wondering if God is really _THIS _young. Unable to contain my curiosity, I pinched his cheek hard. I mean, REALLY HARD. To my dismay, he cried out in pain.

"What was that for!" rubbing his cheek where the red mark stayed, he yelled.

"Hm. I guess you're not." I mumbled to myself, half disappointed. I folded my arms and walked away, trying to figure out where on earth my sister was hiding.

"What am I not!" A hint of annoyance could be found in his voice.

"Tch." I wandered away, not wanting to waste my time and my energy on him. "Emma, Emma! Where are you!"

I looked around the tree, in case she might be hiding there. The sun had just reached its midpoint, indicating that it's lunch time. An idea popped into my head. "Emma! It's lunch, I'm going home now!" With that, I started to walk away from the play field slowly (just in case she takes a hell of her own sweet time to come out from her hiding spot).

"Hey, who's Emma?"

I jumped a little at the unexpected voice right behind me. "What are you following me for?" I growled.

"I'm not following you! I just happen to walk in the same direction as you."

I rolled my eyes. _Yeah, whatever._

"Are you Millie, by any chance?"

"Yea, so what?"

"I bet you want to see this." He held up a piece of paper, in between his index and his middle finger with my name printed on it, and waved it around.

"W-where did you get that from?" My eyes darting here and there, glued to the moving piece of paper.

He smirked. "Heh, interested, aren't you?"

"Yeah. So what do you want?"

"Straight to the point, but I like it."

"Hurry up and tell me what you want!"

"Really? You will give me anything I want in exchange for this note?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm a lady of my words! Just say what you want!" I was getting irritated by the second. More and more irritated. I believe I would snap if I have to wait any second longer.

"Lunch, I want lunch." He grinned.

"I-is that all?" I was shocked by the reply he gave me.

_Why don't he say something like money, or something else? Why lunch?_

"If you can't, then oh well… I'll just have to do something to this note." He turned around; causing me to be unable to see what was going to happen to the precious note.

"Alright! Just follow me, but you'll have to hand me the note first."

Immediately, he turned around, smiling. That's when I had my first clear view of his face.

"Really!" He beamed as he handed me the note.

Without wasting another of my precious second, I turned around and unfolded the note.

_Dear Onee-chan _(older sister)

_I returned home before you because I'm tired of waiting for you to find me._

_Yours Truly,_

_Emma_

My hands were shaking by the time I finished reading this so-called letter from my sister. My eyes were burning and my mouth was aching to scream at someone. I tore up the stupid piece of crap and fling them away.

_Stupid Emma! You made my look like a fool, looking for you every single place! You even made me make a promise with some random guy and now, I have to bring him over for lunch._

Lunch? Right. I almost forgot.

I calmed myself down before turning back to the boy behind me. "You're coming now, right?"

"Yes, are you backing out now?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Come with me." I turned around and started to head home, with him following behind me.

…

**(Note: From this part onwards, it's going to be in normal POV)**

'knock knock'

"Millie, Millie? Are you there? It's almost lunch time."

"Wha…?" the newbie rubbed her eyes tiredly, not realizing that she travelled to dreamland right after she finished unpacking my possessions. She took a quick glance at the smiling clock that read 12:55. Oh, it's just 12:55pm… Wait, it's 12:55? The brunette blinked twice before looking at the clock properly again. It's still smiling at her.

"Millie, Millie? I'm coming in."

"I'm coming!" Millie called out to the person outside. Dragged her out of the soft bed and headed towards the door. She yawned while her hand turned the door knob. When Millie finally opened my eyes, the only thing she saw was… a skeleton. As if by reflexes, Millie slammed the door shut. Slowly, she counted to ten before opening it again. However, nothing changed. The skeleton was still standing there. She reached out her finger and poked the skeleton's cheek, causing a hollow '_tuk' _sound to be heard.

"May I see your panties?"

"Uhh… No."

The brunette closed the door again (This time more quietly than before) and leaned against the wooden entrance.

_What the heck is a skeleton doing here! Is it Halloween today? Or is it April fool's day? If is, then they have a job well done, cause I'm starting to freak out now. Right. Maybe I'll just ignore it and it will not disturb me. But, how the heck do I do it if he's standing in the middle of the damn door? Maybe I will just have to wait until someone else comes and fetch me._

Millie closed her eyes and waited and waited.

_Tic Toc Tic Toc._

She opened her eyes again, but only to find that it was still 12:55pm. She stared at the clock for another second before closing her eyes again.

_Tic Toc Tic Toc._

Once more, she opened her brown eyes, annoyed by the fact that the clock did not even budge. Thinking that there might be a possibility that the clock was not working, she stepped closer to it. And this saved her from some bruises as the door went _BAM_!

She turned around, irritated that someone did not have the simplest courtesy to knock on the door. "Who's that?"

"MILLIE! Hurry up and come into the dining room! Sanji won't let me eat unless everyone's arrived!"

The brunette stared at the _famished _and complaining captain before nodding at him. As if by magic, his face lit up immediately. Strawhat grabbed his nakama's hands and dragged her out of the room in lightning speed. Millie tightened her grip on Luffy's hand, afraid that she would stumble and fall at this speed they were running at.

Of course, she was so focused on running fast that she had completely forgotten that the skeleton was following them behind.

Within seconds, they reached the dining room where everyone has gathered.

"Millie, come and sit with me."

The brunette turned and saw her 'elder sister' patting on the empty chair next to hers. Giving Nami a smile and a nod, she headed towards the spot.

Dinner started with full swing. The table was filled with all kinds of dishes – Meat, meat, meat, vegetables, meat, seafood, meat, meat, and _meat._ Of course, Millie knew that most (if not, all) of the meat goes into the captain's stomach. Whatever happened next to those meats, she did not know. Watching their captain eating was sort-of _amusing._ She guessed the amount of meat he could wolf down within 10 seconds, but to find that he always eats more than twice the amount she estimated.

Nami grinned as she watched her younger sister stare at the captain swallowing the chunks of meat. "What are you looking at?" She teased, in a voice loud enough where only both of them could hear.

Millie snapped back from her 'mini-game'. "sorry?"

Not wanting to miss this chance to tease her new found younger sister, she repeated again. "What are you looking at?"

"N-Nothing, just thinking about something."

"Reeeeally? Are you thinking about something else when you are staring at our captain?"

Millie sighed. She did not want to tell anyone about her so-called mini game because she was scared that others might find it stupid. It seemed as if she has no choice. "I-I was… guessing how much meat the captain… can eat… within 10 seconds." Millie said in a defeated, quiet voice.

As what Millie had expected, Nami burst out laughing. All heads turn to them while Millie blushed from embarrassment. "What? That's all? Here I'm thinking something might be going on between you two, but you were only…" Nami held her sides tightly as she gasped for air. "Millie," She beamed, "you're weird, but I like it."

This sentence struck her hard.

_You're weird, but I like it. Millie, you're weird, but I like it. Millie, you're weird, but I like it. Millie…._

The sentence replayed over and over again in her head, unable to get out of her mind. Her mind swirled in circles, her eyes hot and wet. Tears were on the verge of falling down from her brown eyes. She tried to hold it in and be a tough girl, but who knew that memories of them playing together kept flooding her head.

The image of his hat, his uncompleted set of teeth, his short blond hair… She squeezed her eyes shut; keeping them away from her, but it was completely useless. Standing up abruptly and causing the chair to fall backwards, she walked briskly towards the door. Before her hand could reach the metal door knob, she blanked out.

…

"…"

Headache, fingers twitched, and a slow regular heart beat. Her vision blurred as she tried to open her large brown eyes. Closing them, she counted to ten silently before opening them once more. She looked at her quiet and dark surrounding before staring at the ceiling to sort out her memories.

She recalled the skeleton outside her door. **(PS: Even now, she still does not know that Brook is one of the SH pirates. She thinks that Brook is one of the mannequins you would see in the science labs.)**

She recalled the menu for dinner. She recalled playing the Luffy-dinner-mini-game in her head.

But there's something else she did not quite remember.

_Oh well, if I can't remember it, surely it is not that important. _

She continued staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet splashing of the waves.

_Tic Toc Tic Toc Tic Toc…_

Millie's eyes were getting heavier and heavier. Heavier and heavier, until she drifted off to sleep.

…

"_Mom! Dad! I'm home!" The small girl pushed open the heavy door. Aromatic scent of the food on the table filled their nostrils. The boy behind her starts to salivate._

"_Oh Millie! Where have you been?" A petite woman, walking out from the kitchen, asked._

"_Nothing! I was playing in the playground with Emma and my friend…" She trailed off, realizing that she did not know his name. She hissed, "What's your name?"_

"_Sabo." The blond replied in an equally soft voice._

"_Your friend? Which friend?" Her mother demanded._

"_Sabo. He's right here and he's here for lunch." Millie stepped aside and Sabo smiled at her mother._

"_Alright! But remember to wash your hands before eating."_

"_Okay~" The girl rushed into the bathroom and the boy followed suit, smiling happily._

…

"Chopper, is she okay?"

"Ah, Luffy! Yeah, she is alright and should be waking up sometime soon."

The captain gave him a nod and casually walked around the patient's room. Her study table was neat and tidy, shelf was filled with books and binders, dressing table was neat and tidy and there were two photo frames. Curious, Luffy walked towards it and picked up the left frame. The minute Luffy looked at the picture, he freeze.

Shaking slightly, he placed the frame back to where it was once. "Chopper, I'm going to catch some fishes, okay?"

Bewildered, the doctor nodded and watched the captain taking his leave silently before continuing to care for his patient's needs. Soon and sure enough, Millie started to stir and Chopper smiled.

"Uggh…" Eyes half opened, Millie looked around and saw a reindeer looking happily at her.

"Millie! You've awaken!" He exclaimed.

"Uhh… Seems like it." Her voice sounded tired and hoarse.

Chopper helped the brunette to sit upright and then brought a glass of water to her, naturally, with a pill as well. "Eat this and you will feel better."

Soundlessly, she nodded and took the pill and the glass of water. She stared at the huge purple pill before swallowing it in one big gulp of water. Handing the glass back to Chopper, she whispered, "I want to have some time alone, please?"

The doctor was confused, but replied, "Umm… Sure! Why not!" Then, he left the way Luffy left a few minutes ago.

…

**A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter 3. Hope you guys enjoy it! Please review and give your comments on this story! All comments are welcomed!**

**Next time: The Trio and Millie**

**See you soon!**


	4. The Trio and Millie

**Etsuko: Heyy Everyone! School's starting soon ): *sighs* Oh well… A new chapter! YAY! **

**Well, I got stuck at several parts (That's why it took me quite long to finish this chapter.)**

**Thanks to the reviews, they kept me motivated (: **

**To Allyanime: Well, the three boys (Sabo, Ace, Luffy) already met each other, but they were not really sworn brothers yet. After Millie joined them, they drank the sake (with Millie as witness). Millie came in a little after Luffy joined Sabo and Ace. I hope this answer your question. **

**To AmmyChey 3X: I am glad that you really like my fanfic (: No, you are not rude to point out my grammar mistakes. Please tell me where they are, so that I can correct them. :D **

**[DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE]**

**I am happy that you guys liked my fanfic. I hope you will keep on supporting me~**

**333**

Chapter 4: The trio and Millie

"_Hey! Where are you bringing me to?" Millie yelled to the blond in front of her. Sabo has been dragging her deeper into the forest for quite some time and Millie was not very content._

"_I want you to meet another of my friend. He's strong, you know." He flashed a smile at her and continued walking while holding Millie's thin wrist._

"_Okay. So, where is he?" Her voice was dangerously low._

"_Don't rush! We're almost there soon." He laughed._

_There was only one word that could describe what Millie was feeling now perfectly – ANNOYED._

"_Yo Ace!" Sabo called out to the tree trunk above us._

"_Yo Sabo!" A head popped out and look at us. Then, he pointed at me. "Who's she?"_

"_She's a friend with a mother who cooks great food!"_

_Both of them laughed out loud. _

"_Hey girl!" The dark hair boy called out to her._

"_Name's Millie" she yelled. Then, she muttered under her breath, "idiot."_

"_Come up here with Sabo!"_

_The brunette stared at him and a rope ladder came rolling down. Sabo caught it first and started climbing it and she followed. After a few seconds, they were sitting on a thick tree branch._

"_So, what did you bring me here for?" she demanded, while glaring at the person who brought her here._

"_I think you're cool, so I brought you here to hang out with us!" He stated it simply._

_She rolled my eyes. First, she have to bring some random boy home for lunch, now she have to spend more time hanging out with two random boys. She sighed at the thought of how pitiful she was. The two of them were chatting animatedly and she was bored. Millie looked around her surrounding and noticed another young boy, with a straw hat, running towards them._

_The girl took a glimpse of the two older boys and they were calling out to him._

"_Luffy! We got a new friend here!" _

"_Oh really!" He replied ecstatically. _

_Soon enough, the tree trunk was a little crowded with 4 children sitting together._

_Minutes became hours, hours became days. Every day, the three guys would hang out together and with Millie on some occasions. They would often hunt for food and train their combat skills together. But as for Millie, she would bring a book and read, enjoying their not-so-quiet company._

_It was not surprising that Millie soon found out their various backgrounds. Ace's father was Gol D. Roger, Sabo was from an upper class family, and Luffy's Grandfather was Garp the Marine Hero. However, among the three sworn brothers, Millie was the closest to Sabo for several reasons. One being Millie's parents wanted Millie and Emma to outshine other girls, thus forcing them to study hard and be a 'proper' lady. Two being Millie could absolutely not stand her parents for it. Three being both Millie and Sabo were smart, probably due to all the studying._

_Of course, this did not mean that she was not close to Ace and Luffy. The guys wanted to be a pirate, but she wanted to be an architect. The tree house those three built was stable, partly because Millie helped with the blueprint. _

"_Sabo…" Milie said one day when they were having their sparring. "How fast do you think Ace will beat Luffy?" _

_He raised his eyebrows. "Hmm… Maybe 10 seconds?"_

_The sole girl in their group giggled. "My guess is 5 seconds." _

_Sabo blew the whistle, indicating that the match started. True enough, Luffy was out quickly. Time taken was 7 seconds. She grinned, "I'm closer." _

_And that made him chuckle. "Millie," he said. "You're weird, but I like it."_

**333**

Luffy stared at the vast blue ocean with a fishing rod clamped between his hands. His mind had wandered away to the photo he saw just now.

"LUFFY! LUFFY!"

He jerked up to the sudden scream of his sharp shooter. Bewildered, he tilted his head. His eyes were still glued to the deep blue sea. "Hmm?"

"DON'T GIVE ME A 'HMM?'! JUST HELP ME, DAMN IT!"

He turned his head quickly, only to find Usopp struggling with his rod. Obviously there was a huge fish at the other end of the line. The captain immediately jumped into action. After minutes of great effort, they managed to pull up a nice big fish for dinner. Both fishers grinned in satisfaction as they threw their baits into the ocean for another catch.

Ten minutes passed. The captain's mind began to wander away again. Scratching his famous hat, he thought hard about the picture he saw earlier on. He sighed. The best way to answer his doubts was to ask directly. After all, it was not like him to think hard.

"Usopp, I'm going to stop fishing for now." He withdrew his line and place it aside, then he stood up and started walking towards the dorms.

Curious, Usopp asked, "Luffy? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just going to check on Millie." And, he disappeared inside, leaving his fishing partner clueless about what was going on.

Grabbing the door knob, Luffy gave it a small twist and the door creaked open. Millie's eyes immediately travel to the door to see who the intruder was. Letting out a mental sigh, she went back into what she was doing previously – reading a book. The door let out a _'tuk' _sound as it shut.

"Millie," Luffy's voice was low, his straw hat hiding his gaze.

The young captain walked towards the photo frames on the dressing table, her round eyes followed him above the top her book. He stopped his pace directly in front of the picture he saw earlier that day. the room was filled with silence as he picked up the photo frame.

"You…" he trailed off, thinking of a better way to form the question. Hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, "Are you Mimi-chan?"

Her small body tensed up and her hands gripped the book tighter at the word 'Mimi-chan'. Her hazel brown eyes stared at him and the photo frame in his hands. Mentally, she kicked herself for placing those photos out on display. Inwardly, she sighed. Deciding that it was no use to hide the truth from him, she admitted by nodding her head.

"Then… why didn't you tell me? Don't you know how much we missed you after you just disappeared!" His voice got louder and louder with each word, stronger and stronger by each fraction of a second.

The way her childhood friend mentioned the word 'we' made her cringe. He made it seemed as if Sabo was still there. She snapped. "Do you think I could just say 'Hi Luffy! I'm Mimi-chan' after being away for 10 god-damn years!"

Her cold eyes pierced his, and the only sound to be heard was the ticking of the clock. He opened his mouth to retaliate, but decided against it.

"But…" This time, her voice was way softer than before. "I'm really glad that we met up once again, Luffy."

He grinned. Without knowing why, Millie started laughing and Luffy joined in later. It felt like the old times…

**333**

"_Owww…." Young Luffy groaned in pain while holding his head. Ace had just beaten him again for the 517__th__ win. "I'm so gonna get you next time for sure!"_

"_You always say that!" Millie chuckled from the side, observing._

"_I'm really going to beat Ace next time! Just you wait and see!" He stomped to the side to make space for the showdown between Sabo and Ace._

"_Well, I'll be waiting!" She gave him a smirk and then focused on the match in front of her._

_The match started and went on for what seemed like eternity. Both Ace and Sabo were exhausted and the match ended as another draw._

"_I'll finish this match another day." Sabo panted._

_Ace smiled. "I guess it's another draw then."_

_Millie watched at the two young fighters and started giggling. However, the brothers just stared at her as if she was eccentric. _

"_You guys look really cute when you are tired." _

_Naturally, the six-years-old Millie did not understand why Ace and Sabo blushed._

"_Ahh! Ace and Sabo's face are red!" Immature Luffy exclaimed._

"_Shut up!"_

"_Are you guys really okay?" Millie paced towards them to get a closer look._

"_N-nothing!" They replied together as they turned away from her gaze._

_Her smile turned into a worried frown. "If you say so…"_

**333**

Gradually, their laughter stopped. Millie carefully closed her book and stepped out of the bed.

"Luffy, I want to change my clothes."

The captain nodded, but made no efforts to move out of the room.

"Luffy, I said I want to change my clothes!" This time, Millie said it a little louder.

"I got it." Despite saying that, he did not budge from his spot.

[Animated] Veins popped out at the side of her forehead. Stomping towards her dumb captain and gave him a chop on the head. The latter cried out in pain as he clutched the aching spot on his skull.

"Hmpf. This is what you get for not getting out of my room when I said I need to change clothes!" The brunette crossed her arms and turned away, hoping that the super-extreme-ultimate dense person would finally get out of the room and give her some time alone to think.

However, she received a chop on the head instead. "Oww!" She immediately turned back and glare at the offender.

He smirked, "This is what you get for chopping me."

"Why you…" She then jumped at him and proceeded to tickle him at the hips. She knew where his weakest spots were, vice versa. Soon, a tickling match took place.

**333 ****Meanwhile ****333**

"Where has everyone gone to?" The cook cried in frustration as he stared at the empty seats. The clock said that it was lunch time, yet almost everyone was missing. Yes, even gluttonous Luffy. Only Robin and Nami were seated. Zoro was sleeping at a corner, as usual.

Robin giggled to herself and the chef looked at her in surprise.

"Ah, Robin-chwan! Do you know anything?"

"I think everyone is visiting student-san."

"Millie-chwan?"

The raven haired female smiled at him.

Flames appeared in his eyes as he "hurricaned" towards the said person's room, yelling, "Those bastards better not disturb Millie-chwan when she is resting!"

"Wait! Sanji!"

Immediately, the blond stopped. In his sweetest voice, he replied, "Yes, Nami-swan? I'll do anything for you."

"I'm going with you."

"Ahh~ Nami-swan is beautiful when she looks worried about Millie-chwan~"

"I-I am just wondering how is she doing!"

"Are you worried about what happened yesterday?"

Nami's face flushed from the sudden question.

"A-Anyway, I'm going with you! Do you have a problem!"

"Wait a minute, please. I'm coming too." The raven haired woman said abruptly.

"Okay 3 Robin-chwan, Nami-swan, ladies first." Like a gentleman, he opened the door and escorted the ladies to the newbie's room.

…

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE!" flames of irritation appeared in the love-cook's eyes.

"SHHH!" The eavesdroppers – consisting of Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Brook - placed a finger to their lips and beckoned the trio to come towards them.

"WHAT ARE YOU BASTARDS DOING OUTSIDE MILLIE-CHWAN'S ROOM!"

Before they could answer, a female voice from the room cried out loud. "Ahhh! Stop it!"

Then, a male voice could be heard. "See? I knew you would fall for it!"

Then, there was a loud thud.

The flames in his eyes grew bigger. He stomped towards the room and kicked the door open, creating a large entrance for everyone to see what was going on inside. The timing could not possibly be any 'better' – Millie was on the floor while Luffy was on top of her, his hands were on her hips.

Everyone's jaw dropped, except for Luffy's (whose facial expression did not change).

"Ahh! Sanji! Everyone! What are-"

Before the captain could finish his sentence, he was kicked away.

"Millie-chwan! Are you alright? Did he do anything to you!" Sanji helped the flushed girl on the floor up.

"I-It's not what you guys think! We were-" Millie tried to explain, but Sanji interrupted her.

"LUFFY, YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MILLIE-CHWAN!"

"STOP, Sanji-senpai! Like I said, we were just-"

"Millie-chwan, he was doing something to you, right?" He insisted.

[Animated] veins popped out at the side of her forehead. Millie gave the blond a chop as she yelled at the top of her voice, "LISTEN TO ME! WE WERE JUST PLAYING! IT WAS NOT LIKE WHAT YOU THINK IT IS!"

"That's right!" Chopper said from the entrance and the other three nodded their heads in agreement.

"They were playing until you came. That's why we asked you to come quietly and listen!" Usopp added.

"Then…" Sanji looked at the eavesdroppers, then to Millie, and finally to Luffy. "I… made a mistake?"

Millie heaved out sigh of relieve and Robin chuckled. Out of the blue, something came to the brunette's attention. She turned to the entrance.

"You… you guys were peeping and listening all these while!"

The four guys started to sweat. "N-No! I-I mean… Yes!"

"He told me to!" All of them said in unison.

Franky, Brook, and Chopper pointed to Usopp, but Usopp pointed to Chopper.

Millie glared at them, but did nothing. "Well, I guess I could let this go because you all helped to clear this misunderstanding."

Then, she turned to look at her childhood friend at the corner of the room. "Luffy! Are you okay?"

"Urghhh…" He groaned. "SANJI! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!"

"YOU HAD BETTER NOT DO ANYTHING TO MILLIE-CHWAN, OR ELSE…!"

Millie sighed again as she shook her head. Then, she saw Nami at the corner of her eye.

'_Nami-senpai… I have to apologise to her for what happened yesterday…'_

"Nami-senpai…"

"W-What is it, Millie?"

"I…" She thought hard about the way she should phrase her sentence. "Um… about yesterday, I am sorry."

"Ah… That. Don't worry about it." Somehow, Nami's voice was a little too chirpy.

Then, the newbie suddenly remembered the gift she received from Nami during the welcome party. "By the way, I like the gift you gave me, Nami-senpai. Thanks."

The orange haired woman smiled. "I'm glad that you like it."

"Yohohoho~ It's lunch time, isn't it? My stomach is growling, although I don't have one. YOHOHOHO~ SKULL JOKE!"

The brunette turned to the skeleton, eyes wide. Then, she whispered to no one in particular, "He… He can talk?"

Robin and Nami laughed at the question.

"Are you surprised? He ate the [Revive Revive fruit] and that's how he became like that." Nami explained to her.

"Oh I see…"

"SANJI! FOOD! FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD~!"

Everyone looked at the famished captain and the chef grinned.

"Right. Lunch is ready, everyone. Now, Nami-swan, Robin-chwan, and Millie-chwan, allow me to escort you." He held out his arm and led the females to the dining room.

**333**

**Etsuko: **

**There! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I will start with chapter 5 today and hopefully finish it soon… ahh… School's almost here… Did I mention this already? *sighs***

**Do review my story~ Don't be a stingy person~ **

**Hmm… I'm thinking of incorporating songs into the future chapters… should I, or should I not? Please give me some advise! **

**Thank you once again for reading my chapters and supporting me!**


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